Lee Jae-myung orders physical shutdown of overseas criminal sites in South Korea

South Korea’s president said transnational crime agencies should physically destroy and shut down overseas-based sites used for crimes such as illegal sexual exploitation material and illegal gambling when legal closure or blocking is not possible. For PSPs and payment teams in high-risk verticals, the point is straightforward: if a site is being used for illicit activity and sits outside local jurisdiction, the government is now explicitly talking about non-judicial takedown measures.

1. On 2026.10.11, Lee Jae-myung said he had ordered transnational crime agencies to take “physical destruction and shutdown” measures if they cannot legally close or block sites because they are based overseas.
2. The agencies appear to include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the police, and the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, according to the text.
3. The president made the remarks on X (formerly Twitter), where he also shared an image carrying the phrase: “Punishment even for merely creating illegal sites under the Lee Jae-myung administration, introduction of 'legal hacking' to delete sexual exploitation materials,” attributed to Jeong Min-cheol, vice chair of the policy committee of the Democratic Party of Korea.
4. Lee also wrote on X: “Harming the people of the Republic of Korea for profit is unacceptable under any circumstances.”